Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared-Chapter 578: No Money, No Negotiation

It was already the third day. The pirates had finally got in touch with Yongchang Group and received their response. Though Du Changhui was willing to pay the ransom, they needed time, especially for transferring overseas funds which would require a lot more time. However, the pirates were not patient.

In response, Gu Fan pointed out that the pirates’ own inefficiencies were to blame. They were unable to reach the Yongchang Group on the first day and only got hold of them on the third. Therefore, he could hardly be blamed for the delay.

However, the pirates were not reasonable, especially their leader. He threatened that if the third day ended without payment, Gu Fan and his crew would not live to see tomorrow’s sunrise.

At this, Gu Fan, Lin Xi, Qin Jia, and Xu Haowen almost rolled their eyes in frustration. They inwardly sighed at the futility of communicating with uneducated people who resorted to coarse threats at every turn, repeating the same lines over and over.

The crew, however, were terrified, feeling that all hope was lost.

It was only midday, and Gu Fan already started devising a plan. First, after the lookout crew changed shifts at six in the evening, Su Lei would knock out the lookout.

The second step was for Su Hui and the others to act, releasing everyone from the cage.

The third step involved everyone leaving together with Xiao Hu and the map drawn by the pirates.

The fourth step would be to utilize Lin Xi’s supernatural powers to easily seize the pirate ship, and then bid farewell to this place.

The plan seemed excellent, but the very first step was difficult to achieve. How could they inform Su Hui about the timing of their move?

Gu Fan came up with a solution, which was to request personal communication with Yongchang Group, specifically Du Changhui, to urge them to speed up the process. After all, their lives were at stake.

The pirates agreed, allowing Gu Fan to communicate with Du Changhui. However, Xioahu had to be present during the conversation to ensure Gu Fan didn’t say anything unnecessary.

Under the watchful eyes of the pirates, Gu Fan urged Du Changhui to transfer the funds quickly. He also relayed a message to Du Jun through Du Changhui, indicating that if all went well, they could leave that very night. To escape, everyone would have to work together.

Although Xiahu translated the message verbatim, the language barrier meant that the translated words didn’t seem suspicious to the pirates.

Subsequently, Du Jun received a call from Du Changhui, who relayed Gu Fan’s words. Su Hui, understanding Gu Fan’s intentions, knew that they would need to act that same night. So, her primary task became neutralizing the lookout post on the hill.

Gu Fan thought that if Du Jun and Su Hui received the message, it meant that the first and second steps of their plan were going smoothly. The challenge now was the third step: how to lead the way for Xioahu and the map during their escape.

Gu Fan had carefully observed the room where Xioahu was staying and identified the location. Everything was set. Whether they left the island quietly or went out with a bang depended on fate. frёeωebɳovel.com

As Gu Fan pondered over potential sudden developments that could affect their escape plan, Xu Haowen couldn’t help but sigh, "Who knows if the boss is as unlucky as us, dealing with such trouble."

Upon hearing this, Gu Fan could only reply, "Trouble will indeed befall the boss, but it won’t be the boss who suffers. So far, no one has got the better of the boss."

"That’s true!" Xu Haowen nodded, but his words reminded Gu Fan of unpleasant events. Gu Fan couldn’t forget what the boss had done. Initially, everyone was at peace, keeping to their own paths. But it was the boss who had provoked a fight first. This infuriated Gu Fan, who regretted not dealing with the boss when he had the chance.

The sun was about to set, indicating the start of their plan. Qiao Ya, Dong Ni, and Su Lei came over. They were visiting Gu Fan as if it was their last look at him. Their eyes held a tinge of regret: "We’re sorry. We have no control over things here. We’ve done all we could. We hope you won’t hold grudges against us."

Gu Fan seemed very generous, "No worries, we don’t blame you. It’s all fate. However, I’m curious about what you guys are doing in the Triangle Sea Area, and why you got involved with these pirates."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Ya wanted to say something but hesitated. However, Dong Ni responded directly, "That’s none of your business. Knowing won’t do you any good."

Gu Fan shook his head, "But knowing it won’t harm us either. And given the current situation, it couldn’t get any worse. I guess we won’t have the opportunity to divulge your secret mission, so you can trust us."

Even though Gu Fan made reasonable points, Qiao Ya did not disclose anything. He simply smiled and planned on brushing off the question.

Since they wouldn’t speak, Gu Fan decided to guess, "Pirates are useful in two ways: first, to rob; second, to navigate this area. You cooperated with the pirates because your things were stolen by them. You’ve come to ransom them. However, this should be a fast process; a deal should be made on the spot and you should immediately return. You don’t need to stick around, so this isn’t the case. The second possibility is that you’re looking for something in the Triangle Sea Area. Therefore, you need pirates familiar with the area to lead the way. But you haven’t set off in the past few days, so this isn’t it either. The third possibility is that you want to achieve some objective with the help of pirates, such as kidnapping someone or making someone disappear. So, you used your own ship to secretly come to the Triangle Sea Area, but then you ran into us."

Listening to this, Qiao Ya, Dong Ni, and Su Lei seemed shocked, as if they couldn’t believe Gu Fan’s accurate guess.

Seeing Qiao Ya’s reaction, Gu Fan gritted his teeth, "So it means that it was not a coincidence that the pirates boarded our ship. It’s not that we were unlucky, but it was your doing. Since we knew about your whereabouts, you had to eliminate this information. You colluded with the pirates, letting them attack us and make us disappear. This way, no one would know that you secretly came to the Triangle Sea Area."

Qiao Ya stayed silent, his face darkened. Soon after, he turned around and left.

Watching the backs of the departing trio, a shiver ran down the spines of Gu Fan and his crew. They hadn’t expected the people they had rescued were so dangerous.

Suddenly Xu Haowen remembered something, "Hold on, if that’s true, then it means..."

Gu Fan nodded, "Yes, from the very beginning, the pirates and Qiao Ya’s team didn’t plan on letting us go. In their eyes, we only have one fate. So, whether they get the ransom or not cannot change their decision."

"That’s too despicable." Qin Jia had originally wanted to thank them for saving her from the pirates once. But now that she knew they had summoned the pirates initially, she felt there was nothing to thank them for.

However, Gu Fan smiled, "As I’ve said before, if we hadn’t encountered the pirates and entered the Triangle Sea Area without any knowledge about it or its fog, we would have suffered a lot. So, we really should thank Qiao Ya’s team. Even though they didn’t intend to help us, that doesn’t matter anymore."

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